As a little girl, I remember playing outside, here, in the South, and out of nowhere it would begin pouring rain. Like seriously, out of nowhere! The sun would be shining so bright in the pretty blue sky, and then here comes the rain “raining on my parade”. My cousins, siblings, and I would be in the middle of a competitive soft ball game, so we’d pause our game and run to Grandmas porch to seek shelter until the rain “blew over”. It would rain for about 30 minutes/ an hour max, and then we’d start playing again like we never stopped. Even though the ground was wet, the game seemed better. The rain came and cooled the temperature down, we had a chance to rest and drink water, and the air smelled fresher.

This explains my feelings about my MS diagnosis. In the beginning, it was hard to come to terms with it because I didn’t understand how to approach it. I tried to resume “life as normal”, but I was so unsure about Life. I felt like MS had definitely “rained on my parade”. For the first time, I didn’t feel confident in the plans that I had for my Life.

Truth be told, my idea of “normal” was long gone. I would need to make some significant changes. Shortly after being released from the hospital, I started reviewing MS treatments, and my doctor and I decided that the pill, Gilenya, would be the best option for me. I took all the necessary tests, received brochures on the medication, and then a week before starting the medication, I felt a little off, so I took a pregnancy test. Much to my surprise, I was INDEED pregnant. I had missed my menstrual cycle after I stopped taking the birth control while I was in the hospital, but it wasn’t uncommon. My cycles were very irregular since my teenage years.

In my early 20s, I missed my menstrual cycle for almost a year, so I scheduled an appointment with my OBGYN. He ran many tests and I even had an ultrasound done to see if I had a blockage; but all tests came back normal. He came to the conclusion that my brain wasn’t sending signals to my ovaries to have a monthly cycle. He also said that it wasn’t uncommon and when I was ready to have children, all I would need to do was let him know and he could give me some medication to help with conceiving. I, later, identified that my irregular menstrual cycles was an MS symptom.

So here I was: newly engaged in April, diagnosed with MS in May, and then pregnant two months later without any medication to trigger conception. I definitely felt that God had a sense of humor. Especially when I realized that I received a prophesy in June 2017 that something was going to show up in my urine. I was told, “You’re going to call your older sister and say, Guess, what happened to me?” Well the first person that I thought of when I saw those two pink lines was in fact, my older sister!! She was the first person to hear the news, hear my excitement, and the first person to console me because I just couldn’t believe what I had just found out.

I felt so many emotions. I was excited about becoming a Mom, yet nervous of how being pregnant and MS would work. My pregnancy started off on a rocky start with a relapse that I encountered in August 2017. I remember waking up that morning feeling sick, but I thought it was just morning sickness. I felt nauseous and dizzy, but I drunk some ginger ale and went into work. Around lunch time, I felt so sick that I couldn’t drive myself to the doctor, so my co-worker and manager drove me. My fiance and family met me at the hospital. The emergency room started me on steroids immediately, but I had to follow-up with my neurologists to finish up the five day treatment. I was warned by the doctors about the negative side effects that the steroids could cause like cleft lip and low birth weight in babies during the first trimester. It could also positively affect the baby by helping to develop my unborn baby’s lungs. I was never worried throughout it all. I prayed and asked God to cover my unborn child and I, and I left it in His capable hands. I knew within me that God intended for me to be pregnant and to deliver my baby, so I felt a sense of peace.

I felt this peace throughout my pregnancy. It’s a feeling that I can’t describe. Every time I would begin to overthink, something would happen to put me at ease. God opened door after door, and closed some too, and I’m forever thankful for Him. I delivered a healthy and beautiful baby girl on March 6th, 2018 at 4:48 pm. A true miracle and my sunshine in the midst of the rain. I just marveled at the fact that I started having MS symptoms in March 2017, and the following year March 2018, I was holding my a new baby in my arms. Perfect example that trouble doesn’t last always, and the tide does turn.

God is who I relied on during tough times and He is who I continue to rely on (good or bad situation). My strength doesn’t come from me alone. That’s why I can tell you if you’re battling a serious situation, no matter what it is, to give God a try. Open up your heart and begin speaking to Him. He’s listening and waiting. He’s not looking for you to be this perfect person with a squeaky clean background or have the perfect words. He just wants you to be sincere in your walk with Him. He’ll meet you where ever you are. Try Him and the sun can shine in the midst your rain too. Peace & Blessing to you all!!